The present inventor has recently co-invented and the assignee is soon to market a disposable surgical instruments cradle, manufactured in one presently preferred embodiment of flexible, pliant, thin, membranous material referred to hereinafter for brevity as "film". This cradle and its novel features, including drainability provided by bottom porosity, are the subjects of a recently filed and presently copending patent application.
In experimenting with the most cost-effective manufacture of such an article, it was discovered that if the film is thin enough to keep the cost at a reasonable level for a disposable item (and, for environmental protection reasons, to keep the volume of this non biodegradable disposable item to a minimum), the film lacked sufficient strength, when manufactured in the most obvious manner, to keep the handles from tearing loose when the cradle was lifted carrying a full load of sterile solution and medical instruments deposited therein.
The present invention was discovered as a solution to the specific problem just mentioned; however, it is self-evidently of broader usefulness and wider applicability. In fact, the inventor is now considering applying this new methodology for handle-strengthening to the handles provided on other membranous articles manufactured by the present invention's assignee.